LORAIN -- A frail, gaunt and injured Janet Whitman, 70, of Lorain, was taken to the hospital Monday with a broken arm, dislocated hip and the ravages of apparent extreme neglect. She had been found covered in urine, feces and spilled food at her home on Delaware Avenue. Her son, Steven Whitman, 51, was taken to jail.

A police officer estimated she weighed only 70 pounds. A doctor said it appeared she had been neglected for days or weeks.

The woman was reported in critical condition yesterday at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland.

Advertisement

Her son appeared in Lorain Municipal Court yesterday where he faced charges that included domestic violence, patient abuse and neglect and failure to provide for a functionally impaired person. Whitman had no comment. He pleaded innocent and was represented by attorney John Prusak.

Judge Thomas Elwell set Whitman's bond at $100,000 and added a separate bond of $29,000 on a contempt of court case, noting Whitman owes the court more than $2,800 in unpaid fines on cases since 2007. Whitman is due back in court at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 29 for a preliminary hearing and pretrial.

Police went to the Whitman home on Delaware Avenue home Monday night after a neighbor called to report the son was beating his mother and yelling threats like, "I wish you were dead" and, "If you don't eat now, I'm going to make you," to his mother, who is functionally impaired and can't communicate well.

Upon entering the home, police officer William Lachner reported, he was overcome by the stench of garbage, human waste and spoiled food.

"In my 20 plus years as a Lorain police officer I can't remember smelling an odor that bad," Lachner wrote. He saw Janet Whitman sitting in an arm chair; she was covered in urine, with feces on her fingers and food spilled all over her.

"I could hardly breathe due to the stench coming from Janet," Lachner wrote. Lachner estimated her weight was only at 70 pounds and reported she had several bruises on her face, neck and cheek.

Whitman denied beating his mother, but told police that she had just spilled her dinner and he was yelling at her. He said he was unable to get her to the bathroom, nor can she take herself. He claimed he always cleans her up and cares for her needs, but declined to say what medical conditions she suffers from.

LifeCare medics treated the mother and noted she had a broken left arm and "the bone was almost out of the skin." The medics cut off her soiled clothes and found feces all over her.

"It was obvious that she has been in her own waste for multiple days or longer without care," Lachner wrote.

The mother was taken to Mercy Regional Medical Center, where a doctor discovered she had a broken or displaced hip that caused her left leg to be more than two inches shorter than her right.

The doctor also said she had open sores, swelling and bed sores on her body, and had been seriously neglected for days or weeks without any care. She was later transferred to MetroHealth.

Police contacted Lorain County Adult Protective Services. Right now, the agency is not investigating because Janet Whitman is in the hospital and considered to be a safe place, said Lucy Wanderi, acting supervisor of Adult Protective Services.

When she is discharged it's possible Janet Whitman will be transferred to a nursing home, but it is too soon to tell. If Adult Protective Services received a complaint and she was at home, then they would investigate, officials said.

Lt. Mark Carpentiere said police suspect the woman's injuries are related to lack of care. Police are unsure if the mother had another care provider aside from her son.

"The lack of care was horrendous," Carpentiere said.

The neighbor said he wished he had called the police sooner. He has heard the son yelling at his mother a few times, but never heard the mother. He said he never saw the mother or any other family members or care providers come over. He said the son was usually in the house the entire day and he didn't believe he worked.

When the neighbor read media reports about the situation, he was distraught.